Pear and Almond Cream Tart

Although I don’t enjoy the cold weather (yet I live in Calgary, go figure), I do love the fall colors and this tart is perfect for this time of year. I made this tart with pears, but it can easily be done with peaches, nectarines, apricots or apples.

Usually I’m not big on tarts, but I do think they look adorable and have recently started experimenting with different tarts. It’s such a great way to use up some fruits and let me tell you it will surely impress your guests.

To make this tart was simple, at least according to me. You can buy store bought shortcrust, but I made my own, and if you’ve never made it before, don’t be scared, it’s very simple, especially if you have a food processor. The almond tart is as easy to make as well in a food processor.

First off, to make the shortcrust, add the flour, butter in a food processor and pulse it until the butter and the four resemble cornmeal. Add the water and pulse a few more times until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it. Roll out the pastry dough into a thin circle and use it to line a 9 inch tart pan or pie pan.

At this point, preheat the oven to 375 F degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven. Next thing to do is make the almond cream. In a food processor add the blanched almonds and pulse until they are finely ground. Add the butter and process again until they get creamy, add the egg and the egg white, almond extract and mix well. That’s all there is to it. Pour the almond cream into the pastry shell.

The pears need to be pealed and cut in half, then remove the cores and rub them with the lemon juice. With the pear halves cut side down on a cutting board, slice them thinly crosswise.

Press down on the top of the slices to fan out the pear slices. Use a spatula to transfer the pear to the tart as you see in the picture below. Repeat with remaining pear halves.

Place the tart pan on the hot baking sheet and bake it for about 50 to 55 minutes, make sure the almond filling is set and golden brown. Let the tart cool on a wire rack.

In the meantime, in a small sauce pan heat the water or brandy and jam, then use this to brush the top of the hot tart to glaze it.

This tart is gorgeous and so delicious. You can sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top and serve it at room temperature.

To make the shortcrust, add the flour, butter in a food processor and pulse it until the butter and the four resemble cornmeal. Add the water and pulse a few more times until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you're ready to use it.

Roll out the pastry dough into a thin circle and use it to line a 9 inch tart pan or pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven.

In a food processor add the blanched almonds and pulse until they are finely ground. Add the butter and process again until they get creamy, add the egg and the egg white, almond extract and mix well.

Pour the almond cream into the pastry shell.

The pears need to be pealed and cut in half, then remove the cores and rub them with the lemon juice. With the pear halves cut side down on a cutting board, slice them thinly crosswise.

Press down on the top of the slices to fan out the pear slices. Use a spatula to transfer the pear to the tart as you see in the picture below. Repeat with remaining pear halves.

Place the tart pan on the hot baking sheet and bake it for about 50 to 55 minutes, make sure the almond filling is set and golden brown.

In a small sauce pan heat the water or brandy and jam, then use this to brush the top of the hot tart to glaze it.

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Comments

Hi Jo, Your Pear and Almond Cream Tart recipe has been selected to be featured in a Recipe Guessing Game. Please share the following link with your friends and fans. To play, go here: http://knapkins.com/guess_games/149?source=blog Congrats again!!

Your presentation of this tart is beautiful. I love almonds and any pudding that is almondy – bakewell, anything with marzipan or frangipangi, and the almond cream you make sounds delicious and a lovely contrast to the pears!

Jo, this tart looks amazing and sounds delicious! I really like that almond cream, I never made almond cream, but for sure I’ll give it a try I don’t like cold weather either, but I like what it comes with: hot chocolate, chestnuts, vanilla and cinnamon, holidays. The hardest part is after New Year, there’s nothing to look forward to, but spring :))

Hi! My name is Jo. Welcome to my food blog. I love to cook but most importantly I am passionate about baking. Here you will find hundreds of my favorite recipes so grab a cup of coffee and have fun surfing my little blog. Read More…